Week Commencing: 10/5/04
By: Toby L
I normally don't believe in pride or nostalgia (my personal retort when being confronted with either is the overly purist, perhaps stupidly anal retort: 'Oh, Granddad, don't be so bloody purist - you're on a one-way road to Complacency!'), but today I'm guilty of both.
Y'see, rockfeedback has had its most substantial evolution yet. As of May 10th 2004, you're looking at our new design; a mark of advancement, progress in our agenda - a new way forward for us. All a bit much you may think for just another music-webzine, but the reason we count ourselves differently to the other music-sites out there is because we have strived so hard ever since our launch in 2000 to be just that - different.
And why? Because we at rockfeedback endeavour our hardest to not believe in a lot of the nonsense that many other music-outlets purvey and put forth on a regular basis.
For us, a lot of it's down to the little things:
We don't do interviews with anyone unless they're right there in front of us, in person, where we can eye and report and reflect their every move accurately and thus (hopefully) not receive/interpret comments or gestures out-of-context. So no phoners or email-discussions please.
We won't review or report on any one act that we truly don't believe in; even when we may be slightly shadier in our writing-up of any one act, we try in earnest to avoid the snide, sarky comments, and instead provide an encouraging, constructive piece. Being cynical didn't get music or rock 'n' roll this far now, did it?
We always place equal emphasis on new talent you may have never heard of, as much as the million-sellers. Because, after all, it's the new breed that may well form the basis of tomorrow's million-sellers. But we don't yearn to get in there first gratuitously. We just want to act as a fair platform through which to inform and enthuse of any such emergent wunderkinds as soon as we hear of them (off the top of my head, tomorrow's genius in my eyes counts: Regina Spektor - as produced by rockfeedback contributor, Gordon Raphael, so I'm well aware of the crippling bias; Bloc Party, whose debut show was attended by us two years ago; and The Magic Numbers, presently unsigned (though not for long), who are as worthy, visionary, melodic, classic and warming as they come).
And we also believe in the power of the grassroots (i.e. the places where talent is first picked up on). The Internet itself is a tapestry and community of similar/like-minded music-whores that simply want to push and salivate over good sounds without succumbing to record-industry or media-world politics. Check out the Music Tourist Board for an ultra lo-fi, yet no less aiding, insight into those that are belting it out for the unsung heroes.
That's us, or at least a few pointers of what we strive to be.
So, referring to that opening paragraph again - yes, it's pride and nostalgia I presently feel. The former derived from seeing this new beast of a design finally operational after months of building (jeez - note to self: don't take on the task of converting over 2,500 archived articles into a new website format ever again, or set deadlines that will never be met).
And nostalgia over reflecting what we've been through to get to this point without having compromised our ethics, e.g. generating and displaying content in a way that we feel would result in an inferior product, or cheapening our message. (Plus, not sure if you know, but many of ours and perhaps your favourite acts have even played gigs for us at our monthly club hang-out in London, The Basement Club, on a regular basis. Seeing the likes of: our present interview-star Graham Coxon play his first gig-proper with a new band after leaving Blur; The Libertines perform for three hours, with covers thrown in of 'Billie Jean' and 'Dream A Little Dream', replete with Carl Barat's infamous tap-dancing episode; and - more recently - top-three stars Keane slaying a room of die-hard fans with their smallest London headline ever... has been truly rewarding: direct-contact of the sheer energy we've always hoped to (re)present).
That's not to mention being able to obtain exclusive insights on the world-beaters (The Strokes, The Darkness, et al) along the way when few others would listen, while encouraging the major record-labels' moves into download-only singles (as most dramatically populised by the 6,000-strong sales marked by 'Stockholm Syndrome' from Muse in '03).
But that's all then. This is now, and the impending. So welcome to the new rockfeedback.com. We hope you like what you see and that you may wish to sign up to our mailing-list, or tell your friends about us if you share our outlook. Coming soon: the official rockfeedback online-stores, plus allied .tv / .biz / .info spin-offs; it's all thrilling.
Hmm. Despite four years behind us, somehow, it still feels as if we've even yet to get going. Let's hope it always feels that way - we wouldn't want to get complacent now would we, Granddad?